I have a little different perspective. My favorites will probably come and go over time but ultra cheap high performers like the SoundMagic E10 are keepers in my life. A lot of my music listening comes while working in the yard, mowing or washing the car. Something like the E10, where I don't worry about sweat, dirt or rain, adds so much enjoyment to these often mundane necessities of life.

q-jays sound is ok if you re not into bass. dual drivers! but 2 very small ones that are more likely to be found for the treble part on other multi driver in ear.

what make them a keeper is that with some foam tips i can keep them on, 24h/24 without any sign of discomfort. so small so light no edgy part, you can even sleep on them (but you shouldn't anyway as the cable might just strangle you when you turn... )

they are the in ear i can say i will buy again and again as time passes so i can always have a pair. i ve killed 1 pair already after 2 years of daily use with no care no boxing, they ve been dragged for hours on the ground without me noticing, in my pockets with money and keys, anywhere in bags, they stood in snow, rain, dusty environment and never complained (or not loud enough ^_^ )

i just regret that i can't keep them at the swimming pool.

the cable is nothing extra hard but it is made of 2 parts so usually when pulling hard on them the intermediary jack will give way with no harm done, and if any is done it s likely that it will destroy the changeable part. while on any sony i ve owned the plastic would simply explode in 2 pieces.

the bad point is the price as for that price range you might expect more/better bass + i change the foam tips every other month so it s a budget on its own (comply provides some that fit just fine)

i don't have any other iem to recommend because those i sound-wise loved were most of the time fragile little thing that i broke after a month so i wouldn't be reasonable to put them in the "for keep" section. (damn i destroyed so many of them in my life already i need a dedicated hi-mass-grave. )

I'm not surprised about the EQ5 (and for some the EQ7) and FX700. I can think of several headfiers I respect who wouldn't give up that combo, though whether its the EQ5/7 differs. I hope to get to listen to the FX700 some day. More and more, I value timber a ton especially seeing how hard timber is to do well. IMO, between a cello's timber and a violin's highs, its pretty easy to pick apart what an earphone can technically do. Tough to find one that does both really well and maintain a clarity.

I have yet to find the iem I wouldn't trade/sell, mostly because I've been limited to a budget that pretty much allows me one! (And every time I try over ears, I just like iems more, some because of my lifestyle/listening environment.) I really hope it will be the GR10 for me.

If I were out of options, I'd have to pick the W4 as the one. But I find the W4 ultimately unkeepable because of their warmness. If I had the freedom to pick/keep two, SE535 and ER4S/P would be a tempting combo, but that gets pretty spendy. I've heard enough reports that the GR10 can do a little of what all three do well...My fingers are crossed.

(The only iem I've never gotten rid of is my EX71 which I'm listening to while I wait for the GR10. At first you feel, these aren't that bad...and then the bass just kills you. Still for the $10 you can buy them for now, definitely not a bad ibud replacement. I'll never get rid of them because you always need something for when you can't have/use the best!)

For me my favorites come and go and come around again in time,the two that get the most use are w3 and hje900, i very rarely dispose of an iem ,having researched each one carefully before buying and once i have them its like an old fashioned marriage ,until death do us part even if we end up not getting on all that well together sometimes ,only twice have i disliked the overall presentation of sound enough to divorce an iem and send them on there way ,SE420, GR07

For me my favorites come and go and come around again in time,the two that get the most use are w3 and hje900, i very rarely dispose of an iem ,having researched each one carefully before buying and once i have them its like an old fashioned marriage ,until death do us part even if we end up not getting on all that well together sometimes ,only twice have i disliked the overall presentation of sound enough to divorce an iem and send them on there way ,SE420, GR07

lol, ahh so alike yot soooooooo very different.

i hated the HJE900, and love the GR07 and very much like the 420. ive not heard the w3 but suspect id hate it, lol

i hated the HJE900, and love the GR07 and very much like the 420. Ive not heard the w3 but suspect id hate it, lol

Yep ,i think you would hate it too, it is kinda the ba version of the hje900 ,very similar general sound signatures, albeit the hje has better timbre whilst the w3 has more refined treble,better imaging and instrument separation